Don’t wait for a delayed Amazon delivery. Small businesses around the country are turning around orders, fast.

In a White House briefing on Friday, President Trump said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending the voluntary use of face coverings for Americans to help reduce transmission of the novel coronavirus. Photo: Angela Weiss/Getty

By

Nicole Nguyen

I ordered some gifts—a hand salve, some tea, soap and a cookbook—from a Washington, D.C.-based boutique on March 19, a Thursday. My friend’s birthday wasn’t for another week and I figured the package could take a while. But it arrived on her New York doorstep two days later. I was stunned. The same cookbook on Amazon is currently delayed until late April.

Massive order volume, fueled by the global coronavirus crisis, is causing a logistics backlog at Amazon. Shoppers accustomed to receiving packages in a matter of days—the...